"Another one of them new worlds. No beer, no women, no pool parlors, nothin'. Nothin' to do but throw rocks at tin cans, and we gotta bring our own tin cans."
A simple smart scifi from a time without much understanding of space, computers or CG Forbidden Planet is an instant classic that still has the ability to entertain and charm a modern audience.
It comically boasts to a modern colour and cinema scope but whilst the visuals largely still stand up as realistic (or at least not bad) it is the simplicity and intelligence of the story that grabs the average viewer. For me personally this film is almost perfect, it fits into a category I really love "old SF". I love this kind of film and book, I love reading something that was written long ago enough that I consider it to be long past that melds that past with a piece of technology or with concepts that still belong to the far future. This melding of past and future, although unintentional, endears it to me as a viewer and gives the film its charming quality. However I should review the film not my personal love of SF!
In the film soldiers travel through space to the planet Altair 4 in the footsteps of a ship, the Bellerophon (a greek chimera god in myth, also the name of a planet in firefly) sent years ago to colonise the planet. The planet is not colonised when they arrive, they are greeted by a robot and taken to the last surviving member of the beleophon Dr Morbius who warned them on radio not to come. Dr Morbius informs them that the rest of the crew were killed by an unknown planetary force and that he and his daughter have lived happily since and the crew can leave. SPOILER When the crew refuse to leave the ship starts getting attacked by an invisible creature, the captain of the ship falls in love with Dr Morbius' daughter and goes to confront Morbius and take Altaira back to earth. He and the ships Dr find Morbius in a Krell room, his study, Morbius tells the story of the Krell, a race millions of years ahead of humans that died in a single night after creating a machine that would end the need for physical instruments. When the Doctor decides to use a Krell machine to boost his brain power he discovers the creature is Dr. Morbius' id working through the Krell machine, the machine that killed all Krell in one night. The doctor dies as Altaira and the captain escape in the ship, Dr Morbius sacrifices himself to save his daughter. END OF SPOILER
Well thats the synopsis pretty much :s One of the most amazing things about this film is that it was made before computers, before space travel and before most popular SF! The contraptions they come up with in lack of computer screens and actual tech is refreshing and opens the film up to some cool unique visuals. The characters are all fairly simple, the drunk cook and flirty soldier add amusing comedy, the captain and Altaira's love story is simple but romantic and Morbius is a well designed villain. A pretty basic rewrite of The Tempest Forbidden Planet is a masterpiece in its own right, its fun light and entertaining. To present day audiences it shows a glimpse of the world before CG and computers (even though its set after CG and Computers) and teaches an audience a good story well written is all you really need. One of my favourite films for sure, it just makes me smile! Watch it, you wont be disappointed!
9/10
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